Diablo Canyon Needs to Close or Build Cooling Towers

PG&E has requested that the California State Water Resources Board (Water Board) allow them an unprecedented exemption for their lack of cooling towers at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Basically, they're saying the towers would be too expensive to build. But independent experts (along with the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission) have concluded that this is not so, and that cooling towers can and should be built. (For more info, click here).

Please let the Water Board know how you feel about all that hot water cooking the bay. Diablo Canyon’s antiquated OTC system draws in about 2.5 billion gallons of water a day and discharges hot water back into the ocean, killing more than one billion young fish and other species annually. The power plant is responsible for nearly 80% of all OTC ocean water withdrawals in California. Don’t let PG&E gut the state’s water and marine protection policy.

Please sign this letter to the Members of the State Water Board encouraging them to require cooling towers at Diablo Canyon as soon as possible: letters must be received by November 4.

PLEASESHUTDIABLODOWNANDDECOMMISSION IT LIKESONGS! We don’t need it and it is a huge safety risk. I would like an answer to these three question: Is Diablo hardened and protected from a large solar flare or EMP? Is our grid strengthened and updated to withstand a large solar flare or EMP? Is Diablo retrofitted to survive a large earthquake in the 8 or 9 range and tsunami?

No? Then do the right and only thing and get the NRC to shut it down.

I am writing regarding the decision that the Water Board will be considering, regarding requiring that PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant fully comply with California’s Once Through Cooling (OTC) policy. As a person who is concerned about protecting our marine resources and beautiful coast, I urge that Diablo Canyon be required to fully comply with the OTC policy and to install recirculating cooling towers as soon as possible.

As you know, expert evaluations before the Board’s special Nuclear Review Committee have clearly concluded that cooling towers can and should be built at the Diablo Canyon plant site. Since Diablo Canyon causes nearly 80% of the damage done to the marine environment by all coastal power plants covered by the state’s OTC policy, it is obvious that PG&E should be forced to comply. Otherwise the OTC policy will have been gutted and rendered meaningless.

With Diablo’s antiquated Once Through Cooling system drawing in an estimated 2.5 billion gallons of water per day and discharging that water back into the ocean 20 degrees hotter− thereby killing more than one billion fish in early life stages− it is long overdue that the utility be required to use 21st Century technology to protect our marine environment.

With the state having passed OTC policy in 2010, I am concerned that this decision has already dragged out over four years, mainly due to PG&E lobbying. I urge the Board to now act decisively to require that cooling towers be built as soon as possible. Our marine and coastal environment should be treated as precious resources, that should not be held hostage by the utility’s desires to maximize profits.